Symphony No. 3 (Mendelssohn)
Encyclopedia
The Symphony No. 3 in A minor
, Op. 56, known as the Scottish Symphony, is a work by Felix Mendelssohn
. It is thought that a painting on a Scottish trip made by Mendelssohn had inspired the 33-year-old composer, especially the opening theme of the first movement.
The emotional scope of the work is wide, consisting of a grand first movement, a joyous second movement of possibly Scottish folk music
, a slow movement maintaining an apparent struggle between love and fate, and a finale that takes its components from Scottish folk dance. A peculiarity lies in the coda of the finale, where he introduces a complete new German majestic theme to close the work in a completely different manner from the rest of the finale. It was conceived as early as 1829 during Mendelssohn's trip to Scotland, but was not completed until 1842, and was not published in full score until the following year. The symphony was dedicated to Queen Victoria. Its premiere took place on 3 March 1842 in Leipzig
.
The work is scored for an orchestra consisting of two flute
s, two oboe
s, two clarinet
s in B flat and A, two bassoon
s, two horns
in C and A, two horns in E, F and C, two trumpet
s in D, timpani
, and strings
. It is in four movement
s:
The lively second movement is melodically and rhythmically in the style of Scottish folk music, although no direct quotations have been identified.
A minor
A minor is a minor scale based on A, consisting of the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. The harmonic minor scale raises the G to G...
, Op. 56, known as the Scottish Symphony, is a work by Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
. It is thought that a painting on a Scottish trip made by Mendelssohn had inspired the 33-year-old composer, especially the opening theme of the first movement.
The emotional scope of the work is wide, consisting of a grand first movement, a joyous second movement of possibly Scottish folk music
Music of Scotland
Scotland is internationally known for its traditional music, which has remained vibrant throughout the 20th century, when many traditional forms worldwide lost popularity to pop music...
, a slow movement maintaining an apparent struggle between love and fate, and a finale that takes its components from Scottish folk dance. A peculiarity lies in the coda of the finale, where he introduces a complete new German majestic theme to close the work in a completely different manner from the rest of the finale. It was conceived as early as 1829 during Mendelssohn's trip to Scotland, but was not completed until 1842, and was not published in full score until the following year. The symphony was dedicated to Queen Victoria. Its premiere took place on 3 March 1842 in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
.
The work is scored for an orchestra consisting of two flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s, two oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, two clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s in B flat and A, two bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s, two horns
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
in C and A, two horns in E, F and C, two trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s in D, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, and strings
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
. It is in four movement
Movement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
s:
- Andante con moto - Allegro un poco agitato
- VivaceVivaceVivace is Italian for "lively" and "vivid". It is pronounced in the International Phonetic Alphabet.Vivace is used as an Italian musical term indicating a movement that is in a lively mood ....
non troppo - Adagio
- Allegro vivacissimo - Allegro maestoso assai
The lively second movement is melodically and rhythmically in the style of Scottish folk music, although no direct quotations have been identified.